The project objective is to have six to eight accomplished artists travel with him for free around the Moon on a six-day tour. Maezawa expects the experience of
space tourism will inspire the accompanying artists in the creation of new art. The art would be exhibited some time after returning to Earth to help promote peace across the world.

Maezawa had previously contracted in 2017 with SpaceX for a lunar flyby in a much smaller
Dragon 2 spacecraft launched by a
Falcon Heavy launch vehicle which would have carried only two passengers. But according to a
SpaceX announcement in early 2018, the Falcon Heavy plan was shelved in lieu of carrying out the circumlunar flight via BFR.

The BFR is currently being
developed. The crewed flight will not take place until after the BFR systems are tested on Earth and in outer space.

At the time of the 2017 announcement, the
Crew Dragon 2 capsule was still under development and the Falcon Heavy had yet to fly. Industry analysts noted that the schedule proposed by SpaceX might be too ambitious, as the capsule was expected to need modifications to handle differences in flight profile between the proposed lunar flight and its main use for crew transfer to space stations orbiting Earth.[8]

In February 2018 SpaceX announced it no longer had plans to certify the Falcon Heavy for human spaceflight and that lunar missions would be carried out with the
BFR system.[4][9] Then, on September 14, 2018, SpaceX announced that the previously contracted passenger would be launched instead aboard the BFR to flyby the Moon in 2023.[10][11] The BFR spaceship will have a pressurized volume of 1,000 m3 (35,000 cu ft), large common areas, central storage, a galley, and a solar storm shelter.[12]

Objective

An artistic depiction of a violin performance inside the BFR

The #dearMoon project passengers will be
Yusaku Maezawa and 6 to 8 accomplished artists that Maezawa will invite to travel with him for free. One or two astronauts and an undetermined number of SpaceX pilots might also fly on board.[13][5] Maezawa expects this flight will inspire the artists in their creation of new art, which will be presented some time after their return to Earth. Maezawa hopes this project will help promote peace across the world.[1][3][5]

Mission profile

Proposed to launch in 2023, the circumlunar mission is expected to take 6 days to complete.[1] In 1970
Apollo 13 followed a similar trajectory around the Moon, without entering orbit or landing. During the 2020s NASA's
Exploration Mission 1 and
Exploration Mission 2 are proposed to launch on similar trajectories; the second one is planned to be crewed and to be launched in 2023.